Many therapeutic biological cells are present in very low concentrations in human body fluids. This low concentration is true for both autologous and allergenic cell collection. Such cells, even when produced via industrial biotechnological processes, are still present in very low concentrations.
T cells, named as such because they mature in the thymus, have been found to play an intricate role in the immune system and disease prevention. For instance, one special type of T cell is known as a Jurkat T cell. This cell line is an immortalized line of cells that are used to study T cell leukemia, T cell signaling, and other types of diseases, particularly HIV. Recently, T cells for various therapies have been collected and concentrated. One of the targeted therapies is the use of transfected T cells for cancer treatments. These types of cells have become an area of great interest for disease prevention, including cancer, in recent scientific investigations.
Conventional means for separating desirable cells from other materials include centrifugation and physical filter (size exclusion) processes. During these physical separation processes, many of the desirable cells are damaged or destroyed. Additionally, the low concentration of such cells reduces the efficiency of industrial processes. Low T cell concentration makes efficacy of therapeutic treatments difficult.